Achieng Akena

Achieng Akena is a Kenyan lawyer and human rights and democracy practitioner with twenty-four years of experience in varied regions and contexts, from Botswana to Afghanistan and has engaged extensively with Africa’s regional system, and worked within both United Nations and African Union peacekeeping missions.

She holds a Master of Studies in International Human Rights Law from Oxford University.

She is currently the Executive Director for the International Refugee Rights Initiative (IRRI), a not-for-profit organisation which aims at building a peaceful world where every person enjoys rights, security and dignity. IRRI has, for the last nineteen years, been working to promote and protect human rights in conflict and displacement, through research, advocacy and meaningful partnerships.